Why Is Paganism A Misunderstood Religion

Dravis K. Mercedes

Foundations

Mrs. Milberg

30 April, 2018

Paganism: A Misunderstood Religion I began researching Paganism to better understand my friend’s beliefs. Continuing to devour article after article, I found myself transfixed on this religion, which seemed fascinating. I read through articles with opposing views on Paganism, some saying it was a horrible religion that worshiped the devil and others saying it was a nature focused religion that was mostly harmless. My goal in this paper is to disregard the misconceptions about Paganism and present some truthful facts to those who wish to know more.

Now to organize my research paper, I have sectioned off my paper into five categories. The first section will focus on explaining

Many people do not know about Paganism so false rumors and fake facts about it can heavily influence their understanding of it. A common misconception about Paganism is that they worship the devil. This is not true because the devil is a Christian construct and is therefore outside a Pagans’ belief system. Another misconception Pagans often hear is “Why do you use that satanic symbol with the star on it?” This statement is referring to the pentacle or, better known as, the pentagram. This symbol is commonly associated with devil worship in pop culture, but that simply isn’t true. The pentacle is used to protect the individual the wears it. Now a slight misconception is that Pagans cast spells. While this is true, however, not every Pagan does. There are people who follow Pagan paths that practice magic, but many people believe it to be the type of magic one might see on Harry Potter or Charmed. These are fictional shows have no real connection to Pagan magical practices. Often the effects of the spell cast or ritual preformed cannot be physically seen, rather the energy or aura of it might be felt. Now a misconception many people, even new Pagans, might believe is that pagans don’t pray. This is completely false and there are many instances in where Pagans would pray. While they might not pray to a specific deity or divine being, they

While there are no set in stone rules for Pagan festivals there are some basic guildlines that should be followed when attending such a festival. Most of them are common sense things like don’t be late to a workshop or seminar, respect others beliefs at the festival, or bring your own supplies to a workshop. There are some that may seem strange like the rules regarding nudity (yes, some festivals are clothing optional), help out if asked to, don’t argue with vendors about their prices, be careful as to what you throw into a ritual fire, don’t interrupt or bother anyone when they are meditating and bring enough food for yourself if it’s a multiple day festival. These are only some basic things that should be easy to realize and remember when going to a festival. One last thing is never show up intoxicated. Even though there may be alcohol at the festival, it would be rude and disrespectful to show up stumbling around and spewing non-sense as other people try to enjoy the festival. In all, Paganism is a very misunderstood religion that I hope can become more well-known and be seen less as a cult and more of as a true religion. I do hope this paper helped some of you understand Paganism a little